Cyclone Anaya’s – Mexican in the Mosaic District

C – So, this was a nice surprise. It was a Sunday and we wanted something that wasn’t your typical brunch and we got it. Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen opened in November 2013. It went up so fast, I didn’t even see it happen. That section of the Mosaic District now boasts several new restaurants I’m dying to try.

But back to the Mexican grub. Cyclone Anaya’s offers quite the brunch spread including the typical Huevos Rancheros and the not so typical Carne Asada and Eggs. But we went straight for the lunch fare. This girl wanted a taco.

I had the Del Rio Dinner: Crispy beef taco, homemade tamale and a beef enchilada. Served with guacamole, Mexican rice and beans. It was a lot of food, and yes, I totally cleaned my plate. Every last morsel.

I should say that there didn’t seem to be anything spectacular about the food. It was typical. But typical totally works when you’re in the mood for Mexican.

Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen
Mosaic District
703-992-9227
2911 District Ave., Suite 170
Fairfax, VA 22031

**check out their website for the fascinating story of Cyclone Anaya – the professional wrestler who started a family restaurant. http://www.cycloneanaya.com/our-story/ 

An Afternoon at the Mosaic District

C – The weather in the DC area has been unseasonably cool, so K and I took the opportunity to spend some time outside last Friday. We met at the Mosaic District — the area’s latest mixed-use development in Merrifield, Virginia. The interesting thing about Mosaic is that it’s a bit of an island. Not literally, of course, but the roads that surround it (Lee Highway, Gallows Road, Arlington Blvd. and Prosperity Avenue) are so busy that walking to the site from the nearby Dunn Loring Metro Station, while possible, may be a bit daunting. Once inside the perimeter, Mosaic boasts excellent eateries, eclectic boutiques, a luxury movie theater and the most remarkable Target ever. The whole area invites you to stroll — and that’s exactly what everyone was doing. K and I are consultants, so our schedules are flexible. How is it that so many people had time on their hands to hang out at 2pm on a Friday? The district is so pleasant, it practically begs workers to take a well-deserved skip day.

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K- While walking around the Mosaic District we decided to have lunch at Sweet Green, which has locations throughout DC, Virginia and Maryland and boasts that their ingredients are from local, organic farms. It wasn’t an easy choice with so many good restaurants in the area including Four Sisters, Matchbox and Taylor Gourmet. But we were in a salad mood so Sweet Green it was!

Sweet Green offers salads and wraps. You can choose from the ones they offer or make your own. We decided to choose from the ones they offer and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I chose the spicy sabzi salad with organic baby spinach, shredded kale, spicy quinoa, spicy broccoli, carrots, raw beets, basil, sprouts and roasted tofu; topped with a carrot chili vinaigrette and a squeeze of sriracha. It was a spicy and refreshing salad, which I liked very much. I didn’t even mind the raw beets even though I really, really, dislike beets. I think it’s because with the salad mixture I didn’t really taste them. C- had the guacamole greens salad with organic mesclun, roasted chicken, avocado, grape tomatoes, red onion and crushed tortilla chips; topped with a lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette and a fresh lime squeeze. She is still talking about that salad!

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Mosaic District
2910 District Avenue
Fairfax, VA 22031

**Mosaic has an excellent Twitter feed: @MosaicDistrict. Follow them for information on free events like Films in the Park.